


Dragon Ball Zenkai

by Ka_Zorin



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, also OCs, in which the author carefully sprinkles salt everywhere, in which the humans are NOT thrown to the sidelines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-01-13 16:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21179741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ka_Zorin/pseuds/Ka_Zorin
Summary: Evanstar has become a shaman, the leader of her small village, and life seems to be going great- until suddenly it isn't, and she's on an alien planet called 'Earth', elite members of a killer race known as 'Saiyans' are on their way to destroy the natives, and the natives seem... mostly unbothered by this.(or, a complete retelling of Dragon Ball Z canon because all the characters deserve better, especially the humans)





	1. The Shaman

Evanstar adjusted the cloak across her shoulders. Although it was meant to be a light thing, especially due to the village she was from, it felt far, far too heavy. Shaman Kyo was gone. She had won his mantle, and soon, she would visit the Sacred Springs. She scrambled to remember anything the Shaman had said about his journey, about the Element Ability of their village.

_ “Breathe,” _ Evansun instructed her, his mind pressing against hers, a calming presence in her turmoil. “The whole village can feel you.”

She sent him a wordless apology, and drew closer to his comforting familiarness.  _ “I don't think I'm ready for this,” _ she confessed.

_ “We know,” _ he told her, amusement flashing through him.  _ “You won the trials, though. You earned your place long ago at the Shaman's feet, and you've proved you're ready for the Springs. Breathe.” _

She obeyed, closing her eyes and allowing everyone's presence to wash over her. Even Dandru was there, awkwardly trying to project how he proud he was in her direction. She couldn't help but laugh. Across the village, she felt Evansun laugh as well.   
“Alright,” she began aloud, and paused. An incredible aura had appeared above the planet's surface.

_ “What is that?” _ Evansun was no longer calm. She struggled to think of something to reassure him with. “It barely feels... sentient,” Evansun told her. She felt a wave of confusion and worry wash over the village, and raised her mind to think over the cacophony. 

_ “It's just an offworlder,” _ she called.  _ “If they land at the starport, the Air Village will give them a warm welcome. Their Shaman is capable of handling that if it goes wrong.” _ She forced all of her own fear out of her mind, focusing as hard as she could on only sending a message of encouragement. The village seemed to accept her at surface value, calm returning to the ripple of their thoughtweave. She floated off the ground carefully, trying to keep her own thoughts smooth until she was out of normal sharing range.

Once she hoped she was far enough away, she increased the pace, racing along as fast as she could without bringing the entire world's attention on her. The awful aura had landed, and judging from the sheer anger rippling off of it, whoever- whatever that thing was, it was not here for sight-seeing. She had to step into the mantle she had won and go help the fight, before more lives were lost.

_ There! _ The Mountain stood tall, smoke billowing from its top. She hesitated briefly, remembering the warnings from childhood not to approach the heart of their land-   
With a deep breath, she plunged into The Mountain. The heat reminded her of Kyo, and she felt tears burn away as she continued downwards. She could no longer feel the presence that had invaded Oroko; all she felt was the heat and power of The Mountain below her. She plunged through the burning lava of the core, power gathered around her in her best shield. Her hair caught fire once, and she quickly put it out, but soon she was down through the core into the cave below. Inside, she could hear the lava echoing, cascading over everything. She tilted her head up, and saw a hole somewhere far above. This place must be beautiful when the sun was out, the silver walls shining brilliantly and probably blindingly breathtaking. In the dark, it wasn’t nearly as resplendent, but it still filled her with a sense of awe and trepidation as she approached the center. Shaman Ko had told her that this was a trip a shaman should only attempt on their own once, and only when they came of age. Maybe she wasn’t ready yet; she hadn’t even earned an adult name, and her pointed ears had come in only last year. She rubbed the tips of her ears nervously, the gesture calming her a bit, and decided to check in on her erratic brother. Closing her eyes, she pushed past the lava's energy to focus on the anger that always seemed to be bubbling under her brother's surface.

He was fine, of course he was, frustrated and angry and unfocused, but that was par for the course now. She rolled her eyes and smiled, and walked into the center.

A blast of raw energy nearly knocked her off her feet, and she almost lost her nerve. Starting forward again, she pushed against the energy, starting the ritual that would reveal the Sacred Springs depths below her. The lava around her was suddenly louder, roaring until she pressed her hands over her ears just to be able to think, falling to her knees and continuing to try and speak the ritual's words aloud even though she could no longer hear herself.

As suddenly as the energy had come, it disappeared, and the lava quieted back to its previous levels. Then the cave lit up, and Evanstar stared, the silver walls of the cave suddenly much more obvious. The entire place was made of metal, and there were lights fixed to the walls. The cavern must have been one of the old bomb bunkers from centuries ago, relics of their ancestors' barbaric ways. She got to her feet and watched as the center of the cavern opened slowly, revealing a crystal-clear lake far below.

_ I wonder how that got here, _ she thought confusedly.  _ If The Mountain is still above me, how is it making such heat with this below it? And if this is really a bomb bunker, why is there that hole up there? Shouldn't it have withstood the pressure around it? _

“All fairly logical conclusions, shaman,” a voice spoke, smooth and empty, no personhood behind its being. She jumped, floating an inch off the ground as she searched for the source. “However, both the lake and the volcano are integral parts of my systems.”

_ “What?” _ Evanstar managed.  _ “Where are you?  _ ** _Who_ ** _ are you?” _

“I am the Sacred Springs you have been searching for, shaman. You cannot feel me because I am not a person, and I am keeping my energy low so as not to injure you.”

_ “Oh,” _ she replied dazedly.  _ “Right, okay. So, uh, the Ability...” _

“I know you intend to take this and immediately run to help your fellow shaman,” the Sacred Springs informed her. “However, this may prove impossible. Until you learn to control the Ability, it is only triggered by specific emotions. You will find it hard to learn at first, and it takes many months of hard work to-”

“Please,” Evanstar shouted, “I know it's hard to learn, I don't need a lecture, I just need the Ability! Please, I need to help the others in any way I can, I don't care if it's with or without shaman powers.”

“A wise response,” the Springs informed her. “You are ready to receive the Ability. Dive into the lake below.”

The energy swept over her again, but she was ready for it this time, and pressed forward. Shoving her weight into the hurricane storm that threatened to blow her off her feet, Evanstar dove down to the crystal-clear waters below.

As soon as the tip of her swan-dive touched the surface of the water, the energy stopped, and she plunged into the freezing water. It was icy cold, a hard shock to her system, taking all her breath. She nearly gasped with relief and pain all at once. Somehow, however, she kept from filling her lungs with water. Seeing a glitter below her in the center of the lake, she struck out towards it.

_ In the heart of The Mountain, in the center of a decrepit cavern, at the bottom of an accursed freezing lake, _ she complained to herself.  _ No wonder Shaman Kyo said this journey was only to be attempted by yourself once. _

She could make out the dim shape of a cube in the center of the glow now, sending waves of light energy out that she could feel incredible depths to. This was where the energy had come from. This thing... the Ability? Whatever it was, it called to her. She brought her palms around it, bringing the cube to her chest-

The ki that had been resting dormant in the air shot through her like a lightning bolt. Evanstar gripped the cube tighter even as agony filled her, sinking like a stone into the cold dark abyss below. She reached out with her mind, pushing her way into the thing in her hands, trying to find the source of the beast within, ignoring her physical surroundings. If she died here, then she truly was never meant to be a Shaman at all.

“Very good,” the voice of the Springs instructed her, somehow all around her and yet still not in her head like it should be. “Reach, shaman. You will survive. No one has made it this far only to perish.” Taking courage from the statement, Evanstar reached harder, farther. She could almost see the words floating in front of her, hear the ancient tongue rolling off a distant ancestor's lips as they took the cube from her. She couldn't begin to understand what they were saying, but she felt it in her every bone, shaking her to her core.

This was more than an Ability. This was her village. This was her people. This was the Fire Heart of Oroko.

She was Shaman Evanstar. She could see her village laid out before her, even though it was miles away. She could see all of Oroko. She could see Teronax, and the colonies that lay there, she could see the UNIVERSE-

The cube burst into flames, and she dropped it. It clattered on the floor of the cavern. She took deep, gasping breaths, falling on her knees.

“Congratulations,” the Sacred Springs said. “You have taken the Fire Village’s ability into your heart. It is now burned into your soul, your very being.”

Evanstar clambered to her feet, exhausted.  _ “Is that all?” _

“If you wish to collapse and perish, you may do so on your own time,” the Springs informed her. “You are understandably tired, shaman. Rest.”

Evanstar sat down heavily.  _ “Very well.” _ She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on Evansun once more.

She could see the marketplace in her minds eye, the tiny place normally bustling with activity, the stage where they held ceremonies usually empty in the center of all the action. She could feel Evansun standing there, leaning against one of the pillars at its four corners.

She could feel the overwhelming presence of not one, but two outworlders, their lust for power plainly revealing what they were there for. She pushed harder, trying to see through Evansun’s eyes.

Evansun panted raggedly, feeling his sister’s power grow exponentially… hundreds of miles away. She’d never make it back in time, not if he couldn’t hold out just a little longer. Dandru stood beside him, the same thoughts clearly running through his mind as well. They exchanged a glance, and Dandru had lived on this planet long enough to know what Evansun was saying.

Neither of them would survive their clash with the powerhouses in front of them.

One of their opponents spoke, her language harsh and guttural but its meaning unmistakeable.  <Where are they? Where’s your so-called shaman? We’ve killed three, this is the last of your stupid backwater capitals.>

Evansun growled under his breath, knowing that even if he tried to speak to them they wouldn’t understand. Dandru was doing his best, saying something to the effect that he didn’t know, that their search was in vain, but the disbelief radiating from the monstrous duo made it clear that they didn’t believe him. He squared up for another round with them, fully aware they were just toying with him but determined to hold out as long as he could.

Evanstar’s eyes snapped open, and she shot to her feet. The Springs began to tell her to stop, to think about what she was doing, but Evanstar couldn’t stop. Her people needed her. They needed their shaman. She took to the air, racing back up through The Mountain, the intense heat burning her much worse than it had on her way down. She didn’t care. Her flight was strained, but she pushed through, racing home as fast as she could. She burst through the top, and suddenly Evansun’s every movement became clear to her, his heart hammering through her soul as he tried to hold on. He and Dandru wouldn’t last much longer, she had to move faster, she had to-

Dandru’s pain shot through her, and she gasped with his last breath as the taller monstrosity snapped the Namekian’s neck with ease.

She fell, plummeting towards the ground even as she tried to regain control, the emptiness emitting from the village suddenly sweeping over her. Dandru wasn’t the first to fall. She caught herself inches from the grass, pushing herself along harder. She had to make sure Dandru’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. She had to save Evansun. She could see the village in the distance now, a beacon in the distance calling her with all of their remaining voices.

All except one.

She screamed, trying to tell him not to do this, to STOP-

A rush of energy filled her as Evansun poured everything he had left over to her, even as a blast from both of the terrors that had killed so many claimed one more, taking everything from her even as the ki from her fallen brother wove through her very being like a cascading waterfall. With renewed strength, she hurtled towards the village, every fiber of her being screaming as she raced along.

She was already too late. Ashes blew into her face as she landed in the village, dancing on the breeze and taunting her, mocking her. Her eyes stung, and she blinked rapidly, stepping over debris, trying to locate the presences of the people who had destroyed everything she loved. The marketplace was still burning, and the stage nothing but rubble. The charred dirt crunched under her feet as she made her way farther into the market. She caught sight of Dandru, eyes empty and cold, staring blankly into the sun, and felt something terrible wrench at her gut. She couldn’t feel him. She couldn’t feel anything from anyone. Her vision blurred.

One of the strangers called out behind her.  <There you are!> Evanstar turned, finally able to see the demonic forces for herself.

<Bring us your artifact, and nobody else needs to get hurt,> the first one said, the one who had killed Dandru. They somehow weren’t aware that the planet was full of telepaths. Evanstar wondered why they thought she would just give up when clearly the other shamans hadn’t.

She couldn’t feel any of them.

She couldn’t feel anyone anymore.

Maybe she should just give up. After all, they’d beaten all the experienced shaman, they’d destroyed only Oroko knew how many cities. She was nothing but a pebble in the grand scheme of their conquest, easily washed away by their incredible power. She clenched her fists, trying to keep her claws retracted, tiny pinpricks pushing against her palms as yet another failure to add to the list. Compared to the two who stood before her, impatiently waiting for her response, she was  _ nothing. _

And then she sensed it. A slight change on the wind. A minor nothing, a blip on the scale, a grain of sand to her pebble in the ocean that was the titans before her-

_ Someone’s still alive.  _ She grit her teeth, and tried to speak to the monsters before her.  _ “I will never tell you anything.” _

They stared blankly, and she remembered that neither of them could actually hear properly, which was both a blessing and a curse. It had surely saved whoever was still living inside her village.

While one member of her village breathed, she was still their shaman. It was still her duty to protect them. She projected loudly, hoping that whoever it was, they were conscious enough to hear her, to listen.

_ “CAN YOU HEAR ME? RUN AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!” _

She cleared her throat, and the powerhouses turned their intense gazes upon her, their terrifying black eyes windows to even darker souls. 

“I will show you where our artifact is hidden. Please, follow me.” She tried to project politeness into her voice even as it shook, knowing they couldn’t hear the lies through her very body, so maybe-

Dandru’s murderer spoke again, adjusting the red glass upon her face.  <What is it saying? Can you understand it, brother?>

The other one shook his head, tapping the glass on his face as well.  <No idea, but this one’s the strongest one yet. Let’s just kill it, we found the other artifacts on our own, I bet we can find the last one too. The boss will be happy we’ve wiped everyone off the face of this planet so quickly.>

Evanstar knew that she couldn’t take them both. She wasn’t nearly strong enough, no matter what the alien had said. But maybe she could stop them from bringing the artifacts back to whoever their ‘boss’ was. She knew her village’s artifact was still hidden deep within The Mountain, but from what the aliens had said, they’d found the other ones. She had to destroy them before she died. She had to keep these beasts from getting even stronger.

_ Shaman Zingha, Shaman Yoki, Shaman Vurst… I will keep our sacred Abilities safe from outsiders, like I swore after the tournament. _

_ Evansun… I’ll see you soon. _

She lunged forward, tackling the girl, catching an enemy off-guard for the first time ever, and grabbed at the long brown tail the alien had wrapped around her waist. Just as she hoped, the alien let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground- their tails were apparently just as sensitive as her own people’s, if much longer. The other alien rushed her, but she took to the air, watching them slam into each other with far more satisfaction than she normally would have. Her eyes flashed to the ground at the next movement, ears flicking forward at the tiny sound that she hoped neither of the aliens had noticed yet.

A cube had clattered to the ground from a bag on the belt of Dandru’s murderer.

Quickly, she flashed an energy attack from the palm of her hand, no focus or intent behind it, hoping to distract them as she hurtled back to the ground. They’d moved apart, one on each side of her, which would normally be a problem, but if this Ability responded to her the way the other one had…

She skidded through the dirt as her hands closed around the cube, the symbols on it different from the one inside the Sacred Springs and yet strangely familiar. It responded as she’d hoped, an explosion of power filling her and knocking the aliens back. She could feel the strength from the depths of the cube, all she would have to do is reach out.

So she did.

She saw new words. She heard the ancient tongue once more, saying things that no shaman from her village had ever heard before. Somehow she felt blasphemous, holding so much power in her hands. And yet…

The Abilities of the villages hadn’t been enough on their own. The other three shaman couldn’t stop this tragedy from befalling Oroko.

Maybe if she combined them… maybe she could keep it from happening to anyone else.

With that in mind, she threw the cube into the air, and watched as the two alien monsters before her predictably launched themselves over each other to catch it. They weren’t interested in cooperating with each other, they were only interested in being the one to bring the victory back to their… ‘prince’?

No matter. They still didn’t see her as a threat, and she’d have to take advantage of that before they came to their senses. They were prepared for her attack this time, but even trying their hardest they couldn’t predict her movements in the way Shaman Kyo always had. They couldn’t predict her movements like Evansun had. They couldn’t predict  _ anything. _

And without prediction… they couldn’t stop her from taking what was hers.

Evanstar took a heavy blow to the side, a blast that burned a hole in her tunic even as she frantically patted it out, lying face up on the ground, watching the aliens charge a blast above her, preparing a finishing blow.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she shouted up at them, holding a bag aloft. They paused, and that was all she needed. She plunged her hand into the bag, and grabbed the two remaining cubes tightly.

The waves of ki that had washed over her before were positively gentle compared to this one. She screamed, feeling like she was being torn apart, her veins coursing with pure energy that shuddered her apart. She couldn’t feel the lone ki that had brought her hope. She couldn’t feel the alien invaders who were no doubt either unconscious from the blast or coming to kill her. She couldn’t feel anything but the overwhelming power that was taking over her being. She was blind. She was going to die here, she knew it, the aliens would kill her in their rage as soon as the powers that had taken over her body subsided. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. How could she save anyone when she couldn’t even save herself? How could she claim to be a shaman when she couldn’t save a single person?

_ No. _

_ Not like this. _

Even as the energy ripped her apart, atom by atom, Evanstar pulled herself back together, scrabbling to understand her newfound powers before they tore her to pieces. She felt like a bubble about to burst. The world felt like clay, foldable, malleable. She struggled to understand, swallowing down her voice, taking as much of the power pouring out of her as she could hold, and  _ twisted _ the universe, keeping herself as the only constant, pulling herself towards the last place she’d felt the lone survivor.

_ It wasn’t so much twisting, _ she thought vaguely, carefully stepping down as the power faded from her as quickly as it came, as she tried to comprehend what she had just done.  _ It was just taking advantage of folds that already exist… becoming a fourth dimension inside the third one.  _ Even as the thought came, it was gone, and just like that… she was empty.

Dimly, she realized she was lying in the sand outside the village, power gone, completely exhausted. Her ears rang. Her vision was blurry. Dizzily, she swayed upright. Looking around, she realized numbly she could no longer tell living from dead. She could only feel pain from every nerve, from the tips of her toes to the tips of her ears. She couldn’t think. Squeezing her eyes shut, ignoring the taste of copper, she pushed all she had left into staying on her feet and finding the last piece of her life. The last piece of her village. The clock was running out.

_ “Evanstar?” _

It was a tiny thought, so small she almost didn’t feel it, wouldn’t have felt it if she hadn’t been straining her whiskers for the tiniest trace of another being’s thoughts for what might have been hours now. She couldn’t place the owner, she couldn’t even see them, but she called out with everything she had.

_ “I’m here!” _

A small form clambered over the top of a rock formation, and she barely had time to register them as Kiriamet before she was tackled in a hug. She fell, laughing despite her wounds, and pulled Kiriamet even closer. The eight year old was babbling, incoherent happiness pouring out from her as she spoke. Evanstar didn’t care. She just held onto Kiri, beginning to shake.

Slowly, she realized that Kiriamet was worried now. She tried to send assuring thoughts out, but she still couldn’t quite hear herself think. She hugged the little girl tighter instead.

_ “Evanstar,” _ Kiriamet called, her thoughts much louder this time.  _ “Evanstar, they’re coming this way.”  _ The fear emanating from her was palpable. Evanstar gathered everything she had left, trying to struggle upright. She gave up partway through, allowing Kiri to support her.

_ “I’m going to try something,”  _ she told the child, swallowing thickly.  _ “It’s… it’s like… moving very very quickly, all in a second, only… I’m folding reality, okay? I’m going to get us out of here.” _

Kiri didn’t understand, couldn’t understand, but she nodded anyway, and Evanstar set to work. It was much harder without the feeling of the infinite cosmos shuddering through her bones. How had she done it? Folds that already existed, shortcuts that were obvious if you could comprehend another plane. It hurt to even think about, and she felt blood trickling down her nose as she tried to take them far away, as far away from the monsters that had slaughtered her people as possible.

A shriek of rage echoed over the hills, a shout that shook both Evanstar and Kiriamet down to their cores, and Evanstar panicked, unable to think about  _ how  _ she had done it, only knowing with every inch of her body that if she didn’t move  _ now  _ all would be lost-

And her world went dark.


	2. Of Human Beings and Stranger Things

Kiriamet climbed to her feet slowly. The world swam before her, white and grey the only colors she could see- and that couldn’t be right, could it? She scrubbed at her eyes. Evan- SHAMAN Evanstar was on the ground next to her, partially covered in white powder. The white powder covered the ground as far as she could see. It was  _ cold,  _ too, so much colder than anything she’d ever felt before, and disappeared as it touched her skin. She shivered. Her feet hurt. She tugged on Evanstar’s arm, hoping she’d get up, but the shaman continued to lie in the powder.

_ “Shaman, aren’t you cold?”  _ she asked, trying not to cry.  _ “Evanstar, please, it’s so cold, can’t we go somewhere else?” _

Evanstar wasn’t moving. Kiriamet could tell she wasn’t gone, there was still energy radiating gently from her, but her shaman would not be waking up any time soon. If she woke up at all.

Kiriamet gathered all her energy. She couldn’t fight the monsters- Saiyans, Dandru had called them- that had hurt everyone so badly, but she could find help for her big sister. She had to. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shouted as loud as she could, with everything she had.

“HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!”

Her voice echoed around her, bouncing off cold cliff walls and coming back sounding empty, mocking. Tears stung at her eyes, but almost as soon as they appeared they stuck to her face, thick and cold like everything else here. She felt angry for a brief moment- this wasn’t  _ her  _ fault! This was Evanstar’s fault! Almost immediately, she felt bad for thinking that. Shaman Evanstar had probably saved her life. Everyone would be fine now that they had a shaman back, all they had to do was get home, and the shaman would team up and beat the… ‘saiyans’. This in mind, she took another breath, and yelled again.

“HELP!  **PLEASE!** ”

Once again, her voice echoed around her, but this time, she felt something- some _ one-  _ responding. A thought in the distance, almost too faint to make out with her little whiskers, moving their way. She had done it. Kiriamet could have sung with joy. She pulled closer to her shaman instead, hoping that their warmth combined would be enough to keep the cold at bay. It was so cold, and the white powder continued to fall from the sky, the thick clouds overhead threatening rain but providing powder instead. Should she keep yelling? She reached out with her mind as hard as she could, trying to guide their friend- she hoped it was a friend- to them. The response she got was warm, a confused mind racing to them as fast as they could, and she hugged Evanstar tighter as she waited. She could see white smoke spewing out from both of their mouths, and she wondered dully if that was a sign of oncoming death. There was less of it coming from her big sis- from the shaman. Was that good or bad? She didn’t know. All she knew was that help was on the way, from a mind that didn’t feel mean. She’d see Mom and Dad again soon, all she had to do was keep them both warm, a struggle that seemed to be getting harder and harder as time wore on. Why was it taking so long?

There was a blast of energy from the sky above, and the someone arrived, calling down to her.

<What’re you doing here?> he said, his voice saying the same kind of words the saiyans had, and she froze. Why did he sound the same?

_ “Why are you speaking like them?”  _ she asked, shaking from more than cold now.  _ “Please, we need help!” _

The man dropped down from the sky, landing next to her, pulling a layer of his bulky clothes off and draping it around her. <You can’t be older than fourteen,> he said, and she nearly fell over with excitement. He thought she was mature enough to be  _ fourteen?  _ She drew herself up proudly, pulling the warm thing around her. It fit her like a tent, but it felt so warm, and she was  _ so cold- _

_ “Evanstar!”  _ she remembered suddenly. She pulled at her friend- her shaman’s arm, trying to wake her up, help was here, why wouldn’t she  _ move? _

<What happened here?> the man asked, horrified. He didn’t wait for an answer, picking up Evanstar like she weighed nothing at all, cradling her against him, clearly trying to transfer heat. He glanced at her, asking with his thoughts for her to follow him, and she trotted up to his side as he opened his mouth. Was he going to speak too? For someone who thought she was fourteen, he was acting like he thought she was  _ two.  _ She rolled her eyes, and followed him anyway, pulling his huge bulky shirt tighter around herself as they walked.

<Can you speak?> he asked suddenly, as they continued along. She blinked. What on Oroko did he mean by that?  _ “Of course I can,”  _ she told him, frowning.  _ “I’m not a  _ ** _baby._ ** _ ”  _

<Guess that’s a no,> he said softly, and she frowned harder. She’d just told him she could! Unless- unless he meant out loud? Maybe he wanted to check if her throat was hurt.

“I can talk,” she said, and realized her voice  _ was  _ a little hurt. She’d yelled so loud she’d hurt her throat. Evanstar would laugh at that when she woke up.

<Oh,> was all the man said out loud, but she could hear his thoughts racing, panicking about the unknown language she spoke, wondering where she was from, wondering, worrying. He felt so much like her dad, from the warrior-like aura around him to the concern radiating from his very being. She choked down a sob, and tried to focus on keeping up, on stepping in his footprints so her feet would be a little less cold.

<You’re barefoot,> the man said suddenly, and then knelt down in the snow. <Can you get on my back?>

She stared at him.  _ “Can you carry both of us?”  _ she asked uncertainly. When he didn’t reply, she assumed he meant ‘yes’, and clambered up onto his back, wrapping her arms around him tightly so she wouldn’t fall. She nearly did anyway when he stood back up, but now they were moving much faster, and she could see a pillar of smoke in the distance that they seemed to be heading towards. A fire? She nearly melted at the thought of it. It was so very cold, and the very idea of a fire was warming her up a little. She closed her eyes and thought of the bonfires at night that the entire village would gather around, of chasing her friends around it in circles, laughing and daring each other to see who could get closest without getting burned, of Shaman Kyo lecturing them and of false promises to never do it again that he saw through right away…

And then she fell as her ride abruptly stopped moving, and everything was cold and wet and she gave up and started crying, no matter how much it hurt right now, she couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down her face and slowly stopping. The big man who had carried both her and Evanstar here pushed her inside a little house, small and round and above all else, warm, and she kept sobbing, hiccups bigger than her soul pushing themselves out of her body. Unable to do anything else, she clung to the stranger’s leg, ignoring his confusion and focusing instead on the tiniest hope remaining that soon,  _ soon,  _ Evanstar would wake up and they would go home. Everything would be fine. Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gsjk I know this one was way shorter than the other one but I'm still really happy with how it turned out- I was having Super Trouble with it until someone suggested taking a step back and coming at it from a different angle. Any guesses as to who the 'man' is?


	3. The Jiangshi

Chiaotzu stirred the pot on the stove carefully, enjoying the smell coming from the hearty stew. It was ready; all that was left was waiting for Tien to come back from training. He could already feel Tien’s energy approaching, and took off his apron. He’d have just enough time to set the table if his big brother continued at the same pace. Humming, he floated over to the cabinets, grabbing bowls and spoons and mugs.

There was a knock at the door. He frowned, and set the pile of dishes on the table. Why was Tien knocking? Focusing, he frowned harder. Why were there strange people with Tien? Beginning to panic, he yanked the door open from halfway across the kitchen, ready to blast whoever was threatening their hard-earned peace-

Tien was holding an unconscious woman in his arms, and a teenager on his back. Chiaotzu struggled not to laugh. No wonder his brother couldn’t open the door. He closed the door behind Tien, and said, “Guess I should put extra bowls down?”

“Just one,” Tien replied, heading for the bedroom. “And that’s if she can stop crying long enough to eat.” He sounded annoyed, but Chiaotzu knew better. He set about putting the dishes properly on the table, and gently pulled the teen off of Tien’s leg. She hiccuped at him, tears staining her fuzzy face. She didn’t reply when he asked her for a name, simply staring at him with wide, catlike eyes. Chiaotzu shrugged, and poured her a bowl anyway. She looked half frozen to death. When he handed her the bowl, she just held it, staring into the depths of the beef stew as if it held the secrets of the universe.

“It’s just beef stew,” he said, trying to keep his voice light. She blinked at him again. Chiaotzu wondered how on earth she’d gotten up here dressed like that, and if whoever had been chasing them was coming here.

“Are you two okay? Are you alone?” he tried, letting worry color his tone. She hiccuped again, tears threatening to spill over from those huge eyes, and he hastened to comfort her. “Hey- hey, your friend’s gonna be okay! It’s gonna be okay! Oh _ please _don’t cry, I don’t know what to do when girls cry-”

She pulled him into a hug, sobbing heavily against his shoulder, while he awkwardly continued to float at the proper height for that. He tried to pat her on the back, and said softly, “Uhm, I still don’t know what happened, but… it’s going to be okay? Is she your mom, maybe? Do you have a phone number we can call? Er, the nearest phone is a little ways away, but we’ll go there if you need us to call someone…” he trailed off. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. He tried to offer comfort, but was becoming more and more unsure if the girl even understood him.

She pulled back even as he thought that, and if he didn’t know better he’d swear she’d been offended by his thoughts- but that wasn’t possible, was it? She was glaring at him now, and awkwardly, he asked, “Are you… feeling better?”

She shook her head angrily, and Chiaotzu felt guilty for ever thinking she couldn’t understand. Obviously she’d been through a traumatic ordeal, he couldn’t push her to speak about it to a complete stranger. If she wasn’t mute, which was the most likely possibility he could think of now.

Tien came back, grabbing a bowl to fill before Chiaotzu could move to do it for him. “Has she eaten anything yet?” he asked softly.

Chiaotzu shook his head. “She understands me, Tien, so she knows that the food’s for her, she just… she’s in shock, I think. I don’t know.”

Tien turned to the girl, who was still clutching the soup bowl, and sighed, “Where’s that nosy Bulma when you need her? She’s good with kids, isn’t she?”

Chiaotzu had a vivid memory of Bulma screaming at Goku to murder him during one of the World Martial Arts Tournaments, and smiled awkwardly. “I… don’t think so.”

The girl giggled, her odd cat ears unflattening for the first time since her arrival. Chiaotzu found himself wondering how she could look so much like both a dongwu and a regular human, and shook his head. She’d laughed. That was a huge improvement, even if he didn’t know why she was giggling.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, turning the awkward smile towards her. She nodded, and took a bite of the soup. It was Chiaotzu’s turn to laugh as she scarfed the rest of it down almost as fast as the aforementioned Goku, a speed that was hard to rival and nearly impossible to beat.

Tien cleared the dishes after they’d all eaten. The normalcy of his brother staring fiercely at the plates as if they’d personally offended him while scrubbing was a welcome sight. Chiaotzu watched him sink deeper into thought. Not for the first time, he wished he knew what was going on in Tien’s head - when his brother got like this, he was impossible to read.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a tug on his shirt. The girl opened her mouth, took a breath, clearly about to ask him a question.

Chiaotzu had heard other languages before. They were rare in this day and age, people who didn’t speak Basic, but he’d travelled the world with Tien and he’d met a few. He’d thought other languages were strange, almost alien.

He hadn’t heard anything like this before.

It was almost like a song, he thought dizzily, staring at the girl. Her words, if they could be called that, drilled through his head and out the other side, pressing meaning heavily throughout his bones but still incomprehensible. He rubbed his ears uncomfortably. Dimly, he realized that Tien was calling his name, and he pulled himself together enough to respond.

“How long… have I been spacing out?”

Tien breathed a sigh of relief that Chiaotzu was pretty sure he was supposed to pretend he hadn’t heard. “Only about a minute. What triggered it? Her song?”

Chiaotzu nodded numbly, and offered the girl a weak smile. She seemed horrified, covering her mouth, but relaxed slightly at the sight of him responding again.

“Do you think she’s a magician?” Tien asked worriedly, dark eyes focused tightly on the girl’s face. 

Chiaotzu shook his head, realized Tien wasn’t looking at him, and managed, “No- no, I think… I think that’s how she _ talks.” _

Tien blinked at him. It took him a good minute to even attempt to respond. “What do you mean ‘that’s how she talks’?”

“I mean she… that song, it was… it meant something.” Chiaotzu fumbled for words. “It… She was saying something. That’s how she talks.”

Tien frowned. “If it’s a language, why did it…” he trailed off and gave the girl another worried glance.

Chiaotzu shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know, Tien, and she can’t tell us.”

Tien’s frown deepened. “Well, we can’t understand her either, so…”

“Bulma!” Chiaotzu exclaimed. Tien stared at him blankly, and he elaborated. “Bulma knows a lot of languages, right? So maybe she knows this one? Or maybe she knows what it is, at least, and knows someone who speaks it?”

“That… is not a bad idea,” Tien said slowly.

Chiaotzu clapped his hands together. “Then it’s settled. We need to call Bulma.”

“Right.” Tien reached for his coat, but Chiaotzu stopped him.

“Tien, we both know I should go,” he said as firmly as possible. Tien crossed his arms, clearly wanting to argue, but he remained silent. Chiaotzu patted his arm reassuringly. “I won’t be gone long, it’s only about fifteen minutes to town.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Tien started, and then stopped himself. “No. You’re right. Just hurry up and go.”

Chiaotzu gave him a quick hug, and flew out towards the nearest town to use a payphone.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to my beta babes burnt sunset, pigeonat, and aquamanisnotuseless! :3c I wouldn't have made it this far without you guys!


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